Refract
by sylie
Summary: When Princess Mercury finally gets to the Moon to begin her training as a senshi, she finds more than she bargained for in the intense and elusive Apollo, the forgotten eldest daughter of Queen Serenity.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components is the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 1 _

"Mother?"

Queen Serenity stirred but did not open her eyes.

"Mother?"

This time she peeked one eye open just a bit, not at all surprised to see her eldest daughter hovering over her. 'Just a few more minutes,' she willed her daughter to consider.

It wasn't to be. "Mother. Seriously."

Serenity sighed and opened both her eyes halfway. "Yes, my dear Apollo?" She smiled sweetly, amused to see Apollo now standing with her arms crossed, a scowl on her face.

"She's almost here, and you're not even ready. Is that any way to welcome a princess?"

"No, I would think not, but neither is waking your mother up from the only rest she's gotten in days." Apollo's scowl softened somewhat, but Serenity knew Apollo wasn't going to leave her be. If there was one thing Apollo had that her sister did not, it was the sheer determination to win any argument she got into. "Apollo, please, just go in my place. I'm sure she won't mind."

"You didn't do that for any of the other princesses, Mother."

"I know, I know, but, really, I'd only be seeing her for a minute or two before handing her off to you."

"You make her sound like a piece of merchandise, Mother."

"Oh, gods, Apollo…" Serenity glanced at her daughter, who was now chuckling softly. "Forget Senshi of the sun, you're more like senshi of guilt trips."

"Right, and making me feel like I was disturbing you from your rest makes you an innocent party, eh, Mother?" Apollo smiled and kissed her mother on the forehead, right on the moon symbol that faintly glowed there. "All right, fine, I'll go. But next time Serenity breaks something, I am not cleaning up after her. I'll leave that to you, Mother."

Serenity made a noise of protest but realized it was of no use. "Fine, fine. Now go, Apollo, before you're late!" Apollo squeezed her mother's hand and exited Serenity's chamber, taking care not to slam the door when she noticed that her mother was already drifting back off to sleep.

* * *

Back in her own chamber, Apollo quickly changed out of her casual outfit and into her black military uniform, buttoning up the collar and cuffs, fastening the flowing cape around her shoulders. She slicked her blonde hair back and instinctively set her jaw; when she caught sight of herself in her mirror, Apollo laughed at how stern she looked. Her laughter was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in!" she yelled out, sitting down to tie her shoes.

"My, my, Apollo, you do look handsome today."

Apollo shook her head lightly. "Thank you, Michiru. And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Apollo stood up to find Michiru openly staring at her.

"Trust me," the princess of Neptune whispered, her eyes trailing Apollo's form, "the pleasure is all mine." She lightly stepped behind Apollo and began running her hands across the younger girl's frame. "What are you all dressed up for, anyway?"

"A princess is coming," Apollo answered without missing a beat, despite the sensation of Michiru's hands on her hips.

"A princess?" Michiru embraced Apollo tightly, one hand resting strategically on her thigh, the other draped across her chest. "I hope you don't think she's prettier than me…" Michiru lightly nipped Apollo's ear, eliciting a gasp out of her. "Ah, finally, a reaction."

At this, Apollo wriggled out of Michiru's grasp and turned to face her. "Shouldn't your hands be working their…magic on your girlfriend, Michiru?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind having us both." Smirking, Michiru stepped forward, bringing her face within inches of Apollo's. "And neither would I."

Though this wasn't the first time she had been propositioned, Apollo still hesitated a moment before answering. A light blush crept up her cheeks, which Michiru quite thoroughly enjoyed, and Apollo averted her gaze to the floor before speaking. "Not now, Michiru," she whispered, grabbing her sword from its place on the back of her chair and fastening it to her belt. "I have another engagement to tend to." With that, Apollo left the room, leaving Michiru to carelessly run her fingers along the yellow and black bed sheets.

* * *

'Gods, you would think she would have left me alone, today of all days!' Apollo was briskly walking through the corridors of the palace, trying with some difficulty to push the memory of Michiru's touches and the possibility of once again being with Haruka out of her mind. She had a job to do today, a job that would now require twice the patience and responsibility because of her mother's absence. It wasn't that Apollo faulted her mother for wanting to rest; it was just that she wondered why she was always the one picking up the pieces. The other senshi all trained and had their defense schedules, but Apollo was the one who had to lead them all, as well as the regular army, a job that took up all of her time. And while she was stuck with greeting guests at the flight deck, her sister, the younger Serenity, got to entertain them at fancy dinners and grand galas. The only person who worked more than her was her mother, who was now blissfully sleeping away her stress. 'If only I could sleep,' Apollo thought, again focusing on the sensation of Michiru touching her. 'Or at least get lai—'

"Good afternoon, General!"

Apollo snapped out of her inner monologue to find the flight deck chief standing in front of her. "G--good afternoon." The chief saluted her, and she saluted back. "What's the status of the princess's flight?"

"It should land in a few minutes, sir."

"Excellent. Is the welcoming committee ready?"

"Yes, sir, the officers are all standing on deck."

"And the ambassador?"

"Accounted for, sir."

"Perfect. Good job, chief."

"Thank you, sir." The chief saluted Apollo, who saluted back, then walked off to monitor the landing of the princess's ship. Apollo hung back for a moment before walking out onto the flight deck, which was cleared off for the landing of what was sure to be a very large ship. Every princess came with an entourage from her home planet; after a few days of schmoozing and entertaining, the entourage would leave and only the princess would remain, ready to be trained as a senshi. They were always scared at that moment, separated from the people of their own world and only then realizing the finality of their immigration to the Moon. This was where Apollo stepped in, using that set jaw to full effect to show the princesses that she meant business. They had all taken only a few days to get into the rhythm of things, an accomplishment Queen Serenity attributed to her daughter but one that Apollo knew had less to do with her and more with her mother and sister's inexhaustible compassion. Apollo had tried their method with the second princess and got burned for her efforts. Since then, she had stuck with being stern and, when necessary, forceful in ensuring that the princesses lost their royal airs and became senshi.

Suddenly, Apollo felt the ground shake as a loud rumbling noise got closer and closer to the flight deck. Realizing that she was late, Apollo ran to stand next to the ambassador, exchanging a tight smile with the small man before pivoting to attention. She watched the entrance to the flight deck with a small sense of anticipation and a large amount of smug expectation. 'They're all the same when they first come,' Apollo thought, 'Spoiled, pampered, everyone tending to their every whim…'

A slight gasp escaped her lips when she saw the ship now making its way onto the flight deck. It was decidedly smaller than any of the other princess's ships, only big enough to hold a few people and their luggage. The large area that had been cleared for its arrival was more than enough, and the ship easily landed on the deck close to the assembled group. Apollo composed herself as a side door opened and a set of stairs was lowered down to the deck. Now she was filled with anticipation, eager to see which princess had defied predictability and traveled so far, to such an unknown place, virtually alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components is the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 2 _

Mercury, or Ami as her parents and those close to her called her, was sick of the journey. After all, they had flown 90, 870,294 kilometers—give or take a few kilometers, Ami admitted to herself—and the atmospheric imbalances around Venus had really taken their toll on her. Sure, there was turbulence when one traveled along the surface of Mercury, but nothing like what Venus had thrown at them. 'When I meet Princess Venus, I should ask her if her planet has some sort of grudge against me,' Ami thought. She could make the odd joke or two, but the idea of finally meeting the other princesses, who had all gotten to the Moon before her, filled her with an anxious dread. Would they have already become a clique? Would she be the odd princess out? Her shyness sure wasn't going to help. When her parents had offered a group of advisers and servant girls to join her on her journey, Ami refused, terrified of having to speak to everyone who traveled with her.

"Attention everyone!" the voice commanded over the intercom. "We are now making our descent to the Moon Palace. For your own safety, please stay seated until we have securely landed on the flight deck." Ami sighed, wondering why the pilot insisted on referring to the small group of herself, her bodyguard, and one lone flight attendant as "everyone". The instructions were, after all, only for her, the only one who hadn't yet made interplanetary travel. Ami fastened her seatbelt and glanced out the window at a gray surface, involuntarily thinking back to the moment when she bade her parents farewell.

"It's only for a little while, Ami, and then you'll be able to travel back here to visit," her father reassured her, cradling her head against his chest in a big hug. "And when you come back, we'll have a big party to celebrate your accomplishments!"

'Accomplishments?' Ami thought, crinkling her nose. 'It was now such an esteemed accomplishment to learn how to fight? To protect a princess she had never even met? A princess who was taking her away from her family?' Ami did not voice any of these thoughts. Instead, she burrowed into her father's chest, then pulled back to kiss him on the cheek. "That sounds great, Father," she whispered before moving on to her mother, who was curiously more composed than her father. "Goodbye, mother," Ami said plainly as she embraced her mother.

"Goodbye, my dear. Please come back soon." Ami's mother leaned in to whisper in her daughter's ear, "And who knows? Maybe you'll bring a prince back with you!"

Ami knew her mother wasn't being entirely serious, but nevertheless a blush formed across her cheeks. "Yes. Maybe," she stated flatly. How could anyone expect a shy girl like her ever hope to meet anyone, especially in the hustle and bustle of the Moon? Anyway, it wasn't as if Ami was looking for romance; she was just fine by herself, with her books and…and…

Suddenly, a loud noise brought Ami out of her memory as she felt the ship land. She glanced at her bodyguard, who smiled back at her, prompting Ami to quickly avert her gaze out the window. She could see a crowd assembled on the flight deck, awaiting her arrival, no doubt. 'Great, just what I need right now.' She scanned the crowd and recognized the Mercurean ambassador, a small, thoroughly reprehensible man who probably got the position just so he would be made to leave the planet. Ami focused on him for a moment before her attention was diverted to the person standing next to him. She perked up slightly, looking over the black military uniform, the cape, the sword…who was that man? And why was there no sign of Queen Serenity?

"Princess, it's time to go," her bodyguard said, interrupting Ami's worries. "I will go first to ensure the perimeter is safe," Ami's mind flashed back to the sword at the man's side, "and then call for a servant to get your things. Then you may proceed to exit."

"All right, thank you," Ami muttered, absentmindedly nodding to her bodyguard as he left. Was this feeling deep in the pit of her stomach fear? She glanced out the window again at the mysterious officer. Or was it something else?

"You can exit now, Princess!" Ami got up and slowly made her away over to the ship's exit door.

* * *

Apollo watched as a large man, the bodyguard, no doubt, stuck his head out the door, surveying the scene. He glanced over at Apollo, who professionally nodded back to him, careful to show that the coast was clear. The bodyguard nodded back, then called over a servant to get the luggage from the other end of the ship. Apollo saw him duck back inside for a moment, then reappear with someone behind him. The bodyguard was big enough to completely hide who Apollo assumed was the princess; all that could be seen was the bottom of a silk dress, a swirling, deep blue that Apollo followed with her eyes as the bodyguard moved out of the way, revealing the full extent of the dress, an artful masterpiece of blues fading into one another in different shades, with the top white portion fading into…a set of clear blue eyes, staring back at Apollo with the same measure of surprise that she was sure existed in her own black eyes.

* * *

Ami stood behind her bodyguard, still fearful of the image of the sword. Mercureans had no use for such weaponry; they were a peaceful people, more liable to throw a book at you in self-defense than pick up a sword to fight. The gleam of such a weapon filled Ami with dread, but at the same time she felt her curiosity piquing more and more. No one had told her a military officer, a high-ranking one from the looks of it, would be waiting for her; she peeked out from behind her bodyguard to check again, but there was still no sign of Queen Serenity, who Ami _had_ been expecting to see. 

Suddenly, Ami saw that her bodyguard was walking forward, leaving her exposed for the whole crowd to see. She tried to hurry behind him, but her new dress was too layered at the bottom, her shoes too high, for her to confidently walk down the stairs. She stumbled a bit then looked up to see if anyone had seen. Everyone was staring straight ahead, dutiful as ever, except the ambassador and his companion, who was staring right back into Ami's eyes. Ami stopped walking, trying desperately to compose herself even as she held eye contact with the stranger. The odd feeling deep in the pit of her stomach increased until she finally broke eye contact, staring at the stairs, taking them one by one until she finally reached the ground. Ami patted down her dress, stepping in front of her bodyguard, who followed behind her as she walked over to the Mercurean ambassador, taking care not to once again get lost in the stare of the person she was finding increasingly handsome as she got closer. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Ambassador," she said, exchanging a handshake with the man.

"I'm glad to see you made it here safely, Princess" he answered, making as if to kiss her hand but deciding against it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ami saw the officer roll his eyes and almost imperceptibly shake his head. 'Well, at least we have our contempt for the ambassador in common,' Ami thought, surprised to be considering what she could possibly have in common with an officer of the Moon's Royal Army. She gulped before continuing, "And where is Queen Serenity? I was told I would be able to meet her upon my arrival."

"She sent her eldest daughter in her stead, Princess."

"Daughter?" Ami's eyes darted back and forth, looking for Queen Serenity' substitute, when she heard someone clearing their throat. Ami turned to the officer, who was smirking lightly at her.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess, and welcome to the Moon. I am Princess Apollo." Ami's eyes widened in shock, but Apollo pretended not to notice. Instead, she reached out her hand, palm up, and Ami instinctively and without realizing what she was doing daintily placed her hand on Apollo's palm. The Moon Princess leaned down and gently kissed the new arrival's hand, causing Ami to blush profusely and quietly stutter out a terse greeting. Apollo smiled warmly, taking care not to make Princess Mercury think she was ridiculing her. "I will be your companion for the next few weeks."

At that, Ami's head shot up, making eye contact with Apollo for the first time since getting off the stairs. "Companion?" she yelped out, quickly looking down at her feet to hide the blush appearing on her face. 'What have I gotten myself into?'


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components is the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

** REFRACT**

_Chapter 3 _

"It's right in here, Princess." Ami stepped into the bedchamber, gasping audibly as her eyes took in the room: creamy white walls with black trim and curtains, black and white furniture centered around a four-poster bed made with a sumptuous-looking black comforter and covered at one end by very inviting white pillows. Ami noticed Apollo watching her. "I take it you approve?"

Ami nodded shyly. "Yes. Yes, it's beautiful." Her eyes swept the room once more. "Except…"

"Except?"

"Nothing, no, it's beautiful."

"I know the room is monotone, Princess." Apollo pulled a chair out from under the desk in the room and motioned for Ami to sit. The younger princess hesitated until she saw Apollo moving to the other side of the room and sat down, grateful for the relief but still somewhat puzzled by Apollo's ability to sense what she needed. Ami was about to ask for an explanation when Apollo continued speaking. "Every princess that comes here stays in this room first, so we didn't decorate it in anyone's specific colors." Apollo stopped at the balcony doors and looked out into the sunshine. "Once your room is ready, it will be more personalized to your tastes, Princess."

"Please. Call me Ami."

Apollo looked up at Ami, who was sitting with her legs crossed at the ankles, hands folded onto her lap, a sweet smile on her face. 'She's trying to get on my good side,' Apollo thought. Ami's nervousness was so evident; Apollo knew that when the Mercurean princess asked Apollo to call her by her civilian name, it wasn't for her own comfort but for Apollo's. 'She thinks I don't want to be professional,' Apollo considered, 'so perhaps I should indulge her.' Apollo walked towards Ami, whose nervousness was obviously increasingly, and gently lifted the blue-haired princess's chin. "And you, Ami, can call me, simply, Apollo."

The gentle gesture stunned both women, the younger of whom sat speechless while the older quickly pulled her hand away. An awkward silence descended between them, and Ami again looked down while Apollo took a step back and turned towards another door in the room. "Um…I…" Apollo looked back to Ami, who glanced up at her momentarily, as if telling her it was fine for Apollo to proceed. "I'm right through here," Apollo said with more conviction, pointing at the door. "That's why the princesses stay in this room when they first get here, so they have easy access to me."

Ami furrowed her brow, and Apollo closed one eye in exasperation and placed a hand behind her head, unconsciously running her fingers through her hair. 'She looks so cute when she's unsure of herself,' Ami observed, gasping inwardly as the meaning of her statement hit her. 'Did I just call someone cute?!'

Apollo didn't notice Ami's own internal struggle and kept talking, "I mean, there's a parlor between the two rooms, and you can lock your own door if you'd like, but I will always keep my door unlocked, so if you ever need anything at any point, even in the middle of the night," Apollo involuntarily paused for a second, waiting for some protest from Ami. Hearing none, she continued, "Please, come right on over, and I'll assist you. That's my job."

"Is that what you meant when you said you were going to be my companion?" Ami asked quietly, running her fingers along the cherry oak desk.

"Well, yes, to an extent. There's more, too." Apollo walked back over to Ami, dragging a chair with her. She sat down across from the Mercurean princess, bending forward in an effort to make eye contact. "Would you like to know what else is involved?"

Ami tilted her head to the side and nodded. "Yes."

"It's not for too long," Apollo said, sitting back in the chair. "But for the next few weeks, you are under my care. My only duty is to make sure that you become well acquainted with the palace and its inner workings, that you become comfortable here, and that you begin to understand cursory fighting techniques. You and I will spend most of the day together, and, as I said, I will always be available to you."

"Is this what all the other princesses went through?"

"Yes. Well, except Pluto, but she's a special case." Apollo smiled sadly, remembering the woman she considered like a second mother. "Pluto is actually gone right now, back at the Gates of Time, and Jupiter has gone to her home planet to deal with personal matters, but all the other princesses are here."

"Do they also call you Apollo?" Ami asked innocently.

Apollo chuckled, removing the sword at her side before crossing her legs. "Yes, yes, we've all become used to calling each other by our civilian names. When you first meet them all, I'd recommend addressing them as the rightful princesses of their respective planets, but I'm sure that they'll all ask you to call them by their civilian names as well. Would you like me to just prepare you for that?"

"That would be helpful, thank you."

"All right, first, of course, there is my mother, Queen Serenity. You'll be meeting her soon enough, along with my sister, Princess Serenity. You probably already know their names, but always refer to my mother as Queen, more for clarification than for superficiality of rank."

'Gods, she's articulate,' Ami thought. She had been expecting a woman so steeped in the military culture of the Moon to be a brutish idiot, but Apollo was surprising her with every word out of her mouth.

"I already mentioned Pluto and Jupiter, also known as Setsuna and Makoto. Setsuna will be gone for quite some time, but Makoto should be back in the next few months, if not sooner. Venus and Mars, or Minako and Rei, tend to spend a lot of time together, and you'll most likely find them either out in the gardens or in the temple, depending on which one has decided what they'll be doing that day. Saturn, little Hotaru, keeps to herself most of the time, and she's very shy, but if you get her to open up, you'll find she's a very warm and loyal friend. And then there are the princesses from Neptune and Uranus," Apollo hissed, prompting Ami to look up at her in confusion. "They definitely keep to themselves."

"Why?"

"They're lovers."

"Oh…"

"That's not to say that they aren't nice to everyone else, they just tend to stay in their rooms quite a bit." Ami's eyes widened when she realized what this meant. "Anyway, their names are Michiru and Haruka, although you'll often hear them calling each other 'Michi' and 'Ruka'." Ami had picked up on the nearly imperceptible change in Apollo's tone but decided not to press the matter. "Michiru might be particularly nice to you since, from what I've heard, you and her have something in common."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Swimming. It's one of your favorite activities, isn't it?"

"Yes, but how did you know…?"

"Every planet's ambassador preps me before the arrival of each princess. Getting to know very basic facts about you just comes with the territory." Apollo cringed at how aloof and emotionally disengaged she sounded. Judging by Ami's hurt and confused look, the words had made an even greater impact on their audience. Apollo knew she was overcompensating for the moment of weakness she had experienced before, touching Ami so tenderly, as if it meant nothing for her to be so close to someone. But this? This was too much; she had hurt the girl's feelings, and that hadn't been her intent at all. "I'm sorry, that didn't come out correctly. I meant to say that every ambassador tells me about their princess so that I can better prepare your favorite things for you."

"You prepare every princess's favorite things for her?" Ami asked incredulously, lifting one eyebrow in disbelief.

"I try to. I've found it makes the transition much easier." A knock came at the door. "And there must be your transition now." Getting up, grateful for an interruption, Apollo opened the door and motioned for the two servants to enter the bedchamber. "Your luggage, Princess." The first servant who entered placed Ami's luggage at the foot of the bed. "And a small gift from the Moon family." The second servant placed two parcels on the bed. The two men both bowed to Ami and Apollo before leaving.

"Gift?"

"Think of it as proof that I'm not really the cold-hearted bastard I've made myself out to be."

"I never thought…"

"If you'll excuse me, Ami, I actually must go take care of some business. Please, make yourself comfortable, rest, and I'll be back to get you later before the dinner. If you should need anything, just pull the cord at the head of the bed and a servant will come help you." Apollo bowed and left through the open door.

Ami stood in the middle of the room, somewhat perplexed about why Apollo had left so suddenly. Maybe she, Ami, had said or did something wrong? Apollo definitely alternated between being relaxed and being on edge, a feeling Ami could easily sympathize with. She looked over to the bed, where the two parcels were neatly laying side by side. Unable to hide her curiosity—and eager to prove to herself that Apollo's assertions were true—Ami sank down into the comforter and delicately untied the flatter parcel. Unfolding the brown paper, she gasped lightly when her fingers grazed silk fabric. Inside was a set of pajamas, deep blue in color, with a white 'M' embroidered on the right breast pocket. Glancing back at the white pillows, which looked even more inviting now than they had before, Ami took the hint and quickly changed into the pajamas, crawling in under the covers and letting her body relax into the pillows.

She moved her foot and kicked the other parcel, which balanced precariously on the edge of the bed. Ami seriously considered leaving it be for the time being; the pajamas were an extravagant enough gift, and the bed felt so comfortable after her long journey. But, she realized, if Apollo came back and found the gift unopened, she would surely be insulted. Ami pushed herself up from under the covers, grabbed the box, which she noticed was much heavier than she expected, and untied the string on top to release the folded sides. After peeking inside, Ami squealed loudly, all thoughts of sleep discarded as she started pulling out the dozen classic texts that had been placed inside for her.

* * *

Upon hearing a girlish squeal. Apollo stopped pacing and smiled widely. 'Good, she likes her new books,' the girl thought, her mood improving now that she was sure her previous behavior would be forgiven, if not altogether forgotten. Apollo turned away from the door to Ami's bedchamber and started walking down the hallway, passing the bedchambers of the other senshi. When she had walked halfway down, she suddenly heard a moan, followed by a loud scream, then another, louder, more high-pitched moan. 'You've got to kidding me,' Apollo seethed as she marched down the hallway to the absolute end, where the screams were much more audible. Stopping before two doors, one directly in front of her, the other to her right, she waited for another sound, this time a sharp gasp that sounded a lot like the word 'Ruka', before deciding on the door to her right. 

With the way the room had been built, it took Apollo a few moments before she was able to fully see the bed, giving its users enough time to at least stop the essential basics of what they were doing. Still, Apollo saw Haruka roll off of Michiru, wiping her mouth along the way, and grab the covers to hold on to whatever decency she had left. Michiru, on the other hand, only propped herself up on her elbows and—mercifully, Apollo thought—covered up her nether regions with the end of the sheet Haruka was using.

"Gods, Apollo, what the hell are you doing!" Haruka screamed.

"Yes, what indeed?" Michiru added, smirking knowingly at Apollo's discomfort.

"Look, I heard you two all the way down the hall," Apollo answered, staring right into Michiru's eyes, which were filled with a dare to Apollo to look down at the aquamarine-haired princess's exposed breasts.

"And you figured we must be having a good time, so you decided to…?" Michiru let her question trail off; everyone in the room knew where it was going, anyway. Haruka sighed deeply, aware of Michiru's insistence on relentlessly teasing Apollo but incapable of stopping it.

"I decided to come here and be the leader I'm meant to be." This caused Michiru to perk up somewhat. "So I'm just going to say this. I don't give a _shit_ if you two have sex every free moment you get," Apollo looked at Haruka, whose normally confident gaze was visibly faltering. "And neither does anyone else. But if I catch you two being so immodest and loud that the whole world has to know your business one more time, I will order the two of you to be separated on the grounds of conducting an intra-military relationship." Apollo leaned forward, placing her hands on the bed, and looked up at the two stunned princesses. "Stop embarrassing yourselves and the rest of the princesses." With that, Apollo straightened herself back up and started walking out of the room.

"Apollo!" Michiru called out, prompting Apollo to stop right as she opened the door.

"What?"

"She's that pretty, huh?" The only answer Michiru got was the slamming of a door.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 4 _

"So, what do you think, Apollo?" Queen Serenity and her daughter were standing on the balcony, backs turned to the dining room, where all the other princesses were getting to know Ami. "Will she be as difficult to toughen up as the ambassador said?"

"You know that man has never been right, Mother."

Serenity chuckled, then tsk-ed as her daughter took a drag from a pipe. "I really wish you wouldn't smoke," Serenity complained, all the while knowing her daughter wouldn't listen. All Serenity could use to console herself was the fact that Apollo only seemed to smoke the pipe when she was stressed out—which, unfortunately, was more and more often. Serenity sighed and looked at Apollo again. "Back to the matter at hand. Do you think she can handle the training?"

"Haven't they all?"

"Yes, Apollo, I know, but…"

"Mother, yes, she'll be able to handle the training. I'm going to tailor it to her strengths."

"Which are?"

"Strategy. Calculations. Computations. The things nobody else has patience for."

"Are you sure about this? After only a few hours?"

"When have I ever been wrong? Anyway, Mother, look at her." The two turned around to see Ami sitting silently in the middle of a crowd of the other princesses, who were all talking at her while the Mercurean princess nodded politely. The younger Serenity was hanging on to Ami's arm, pushing plates of food towards her then gobbling them down after Ami declined the delicacies. "She arrived virtually by herself and has contributed very little to any conversation. She's shy, but all she's really doing is hiding her fierce intelligent. She's well-read. Educated. She's going to be perfect for the logistical side of fighting."

"I can tell you like her."

Apollo winced slightly, glancing at her mother covertly to see if there was any ulterior meaning to what she said. "Yes," she whispered, slowly taking a drag of the pipe before speaking again. "I suppose so."

Serenity looked over at her daughter, sensing something more, but decided not to ask her to elaborate. "Well, that's a whole lot better than your reaction to Mars when she first got here."

Apollo groaned, pretending to be buckling under the weight of the bad memory. "Oh, gods, Mother, don't remind me!"

* * *

Knock. Knock. 

Ami stirred in bed, grumbling into the pillows she had positioned around herself during the night, and opened her eyes at the noise.

Knock. Knock.

Thinking that if she just didn't answer she'd be left alone, Ami hid under the covers and squeezed her eyes shut.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

'Gods, Apollo, just please, give me a few minutes more,' Ami begged, feeling the exhaustion from three days' worth of intensive defense exercises. Ever since her first day on the Moon, Apollo had been more reserved around Ami, saying only what was absolutely necessary to her during their many training periods. She would have been upset about this, but Ami noticed that Apollo often separated herself from all the other princesses, especially Haruka and Michiru. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she would have thought Apollo and the two older senshi didn't like each other.

Knock. Lighter this time, only once; Ami could feel the hesitation through the door. She hadn't wanted Apollo to walk on eggshells around her, but perhaps it couldn't be helped? Then again, she hadn't really tried to reach out to Apollo…or anyone, for that matter, since reaching the Moon. And after the first dinner together, everyone had just accepted that Ami was to be the quiet, reserved one at the table. Hotaru, for her part, gladly relinquished the title by getting into intense conversations with Rei about religion and spirituality. Whenever their conversation veered comparisons to science, Ami wanted to contribute her opinion but didn't know how to without seeming intrusive.

"Ami? May I come in?"

Sighing, Ami finally decided that she couldn't hide from her duties any longer and gave Apollo permission to enter. "Good morning, Apollo."

"Good mor—oh! I'm sorry!" Apollo turned to face the wall just as quickly as she had entered the room. "I thought you would be awake and dressed already. If I had known you were still in bed, I never would have come in and…"

"Apollo?" Ami interrupted.

"Yes?"

"I'm dressed in the pajamas you gave me." Ami paused to try to stifle an intense blush. "Um, so, it covers enough. You can turn around." Cautiously, Apollo lifted her head towards Ami. "I should be the one apologizing, I should have been ready for our training session by now."

"Well, actually, that's what I came here to talk to you about," Apollo said, sitting down at the desk. She watched as Ami pushed the covers off her, taking care not to kick anything onto the floor. "Those pajamas look stunning on you," Apollo suddenly blurted out, unconsciously clenching her jaw immediately after the words left her mouth. When Ami didn't look up, Apollo assumed that the younger girl hadn't heard her, but what she did not know was that Ami was trying desperately to hide how flustered she was. "I mean, you can stay in them today because I have a surprise for you." Ami's head shot up, her expression a mix of surprise and apprehension. "No! That's not what I meant! Gods!"

Watching Apollo jump out of the chair and again stretch her arm behind her head to run fingers through her hair, Ami couldn't help but once more notice how cute Apollo looked when she was embarrassed. She said, innocently, "Would you like to start again, Apollo?"

Stopping her nervous pacing, Apollo looked over at Ami, suddenly struck by the thought that she had underestimated the blue-haired princess. Apollo didn't ruminate over the thought, though, and let it slide. "Yes, yes, I would. What I meant to say was, you can choose to stay in your pajamas and in bed all day because I'm giving you the day off."

"Really?" Ami squeaked out.

"Try not to let the other princesses know, but I figured I was pushing you hard enough, and it's not like you've had any grand balls or fancy dinners to distract you, so, yeah. You get a break. But just today."

"And you chose to start this break by waking me up early as ever?" Ami raised an eyebrow, an uncharacteristically sly smile on her face.

The sight of the girl sitting in bed in her sumptuous silk pajamas, hair tussled from sleeping, smirking at her sent a shiver up Apollo's spine. 'Yes, I _did_ underestimate her.' Regardless, Apollo bowed shallowly in apology. "You have a point, Ami, but I didn't want to throw you off the sleep schedule you were starting to develop. Anyway, it's nice to have some company in the cold mornings." Apollo paused to let the weight of the words settle and was somewhat pleased to see Ami's smirk receding into a warm smile. "But, as I said, if you'd like to stay in bed all day, please do so."

"And what will you be doing, Apollo?"

"Me?" Apollo furrowed her brow; nobody had ever asked her that question before on a day off, not even Haruka. The princesses spent enough time with Apollo during their first few months at the Moon, so they always jumped at the first chance they got to get away from the workaholic general. But Apollo could see Ami was genuinely interested to hear what Apollo had planned for the day. "Well, I have a few military checks to make this morning, but afterwards I'm probably going to the…library."

"Library?!" Ami jumped out of bed and furiously put on her slippers. "I want to come!"

Apollo pretended to be bothered by the younger girl's suggestion. "I don't know, do you _really_ want to spend your day off cooped up in a stuffy room brimming with ancient texts? And with _me_, no less?"

"If it means a day of reading, I think I can find a way to deal with both of those unpleasantries."

"That's not a word, Ami," Apollo retorted, smiling to show she was just kidding.

Ami smiled back, visibly giddy. "See? If only I had had access to more books, I would have known that and not made a fool of myself. How can you possibly let such an ignorant princess as myself remain in this palace?"

"Well, my mother does insist on you staying, so I guess I'll just have to remedy your ignorance later this morning with an intensive list of recommended books."

"That sounds like the perfect antidote. I'll be by later."

"Until then." Apollo bowed again, more deeply this time, taking care to keep eye contact with Ami. She then left the room, closing the door softly behind her, leaving the Mercurean princess alone with the realization that, for the first time, she had flirted with someone—and they had flirted back.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 5 _

Apollo and Ami were sitting on opposite sides of a long, wide table, books strewn around them. Both were taking notes on the respective subjects they were reading about: Ami, the detailed and comprehensive history of the gods and religion (she hoped to learn enough to be included in Rei and Hotaru's conversation); Apollo, a newly published set of essays about the proper and humane use of military force. A worker interrupted the pair. "Excuse me, Princess Apollo?"

"Yes?"

"The order you put in is ready."

"Excellent, thank you. Please bring it here."

"Yes, ma'am."

The worker walked away and Apollo felt Ami staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just weird hearing you being addressed as a princess and not as a general."

"Agreed." Before either could explain their reasoning, the worker came by, wheeling a cart loaded with books. "Ah, here we are. Thank you" Apollo said as the worker bowed and walked away.

"Are these…?"

"Your reading material for the next year? Yes. I hand-picked each one myself." Ami suppressed a giggle as a visible blush crept across Apollo's cheeks, which the normally composed princess tried to hide by combing through the books. "What about the other ones? How are you getting along with them?" Apollo glanced up to see Ami refusing to meet her gaze. "Oh, don't tell me you read them all already!" Ami nodded sheepishly, prompting Apollo to sigh. "Of course you did. No wonder you're so tired. Do you get any sleep at all?"

"A few hours a night."

"Ami!" Apollo jumped up, towering over her companion. "What are you thinking! Look, I'm not your mother or anything, but really, you need to be getting at least eight hours of…"

'She's worried about me,' Ami realized as Apollo's words trailed off into background noise. Completely ignoring everything Apollo was saying to her, Ami focused on watching the blonde as she spoke, noticing that every time Apollo became particularly emotional, the yellow specks in her otherwise black eyes burned brightly, as if ignited by some fire deep inside Apollo's core. 'Like a solar flare. That's what this is,' Ami reasoned. 'She's harnessed the power of the sun and is letting it out by accident.' In spite of herself, Ami smiled, thinking, 'I have a sun goddess worried about me!'

"What are you smiling about?" Apollo was now leaning across the table, inches away from Ami, oblivious of the people watching her.

At this close a distance, Ami could feel the heat coming from Apollo's body and finally understood why the petite general struck fear into many an enemy's heart. She was intimidating, there was no doubt about that, and it was not yet within Ami's power to counteract Apollo's powerful resolve. Ami stopped smiling and looked away. "Nothing, I'm sorry." Ami expected Apollo to thank her for the apology, but instead she came around the table, sat down next to Ami, and took both of the blue-haired princess's hands in her own.

"No, I'm sorry, I didn't meant it like that. I'm just worried about you."

Ami's body tried to convey what her voice could not as she leaned forward to wrap her arms around Apollo's neck and pull the older girl into a tight embrace. Shutting her eyes to ignore the stares from the other library patrons, Ami willed Apollo to hear her thoughts: 'I know, I know, I know you are.'

"Good," Apollo whispered into Ami's ear before breaking the embrace. "Good," she repeated, looking right into Ami's eyes to let her know that words had not been necessary. "Well, now that we've provided a sufficiently embarrassing show for everyone, what's say we grab this cart and haul ass back to our rooms?"

"Did you just say 'haul ass'?"

"You mean no one told you I was a renegade with a foul mouth, Princess Mercury?"

Ami slapped Apollo lightly on the shoulder. "No, just a gender-bending princess who fancies herself a general."

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see who fancies themselves what at tomorrow's training session."

"I was hoping you'd forget…"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 6 _

Another three weeks went by before either girl got any time off, this time to prepare for a grand gala in honor of Queen Serenity's birthday that would be happening the following evening. Apollo chose to spend her time out in the gardens people-watching, something she could do without fear of being interrupted because of a general rumor that she was too cold and distant to ever approach. It wasn't an image Apollo liked to cultivate often, but on these types of days, when she finally felt like there was enough time to think over everything that had happened in the past month, involuntary isolation was a blessing.

A light breeze blew Apollo's bangs into her eyes, and she slowly, lightly brushed them away, squinting against the sun and watching Rei and Minako a few dozen yards away, spread out and tanning on their blanket. Apollo had expected them to be inside trying on dresses, but seeing that they were outside, Apollo just assumed that, like always, they would leave everything until the last minute; well, Minako would, and she would drag Rei into her procrastination.

But Apollo's mind was only partially focused on Rei and Minako, now throwing water at each other, because she couldn't stop thinking about Ami. The Mercurean princess had recently become homesick—they all did, the princesses, at about the same time—and had taken to coming in to Apollo's room at night. The past two nights, she had even fallen asleep in Apollo's bed, leaving the surprised and conflicted general with the uncomfortable options of either sleeping in the bed with Ami or crunching up into a ball on the two-person couch. Needless to say, Apollo had chosen the latter option, waking up with a sore neck and an apologetic Ami each morning. Apollo received Ami's apologies with grace and patience, but she knew that both of them were aware of the fact that the alternative was, somehow, unfeasible.

And yet…last night, after Apollo had noticed Ami was asleep, book in her lap, but before she could get off the bed, the blue-haired girl had rolled over and draped her arm across Apollo's legs just as the older girl had started to shift off. The more Apollo moved away from Ami's grasp, the more she was trapped by the other's limbs, which counter-responded to every slow movement Apollo made. Once she reasoned that the only way she could get off would inevitably wake Ami, Apollo did so and held her breath, waiting for Ami to wake up, but nothing happened. There had been a squeak of the mattress when Apollo shifted her weight and a loud thud when the blonde hit the floor, but Ami did not even stir. It was strange, and the unexpectedness of Ami's eyes staying shut was compounded by her irregular breathing. There was no way she could have been asleep, Apollo thought, but the reality of the lingering sensation of Ami's hand on her thigh was too immense for Apollo to seriously consider.

But here she was, thinking about that exact sensation, unconsciously recreating it with her own hand placed lightly on the top of her thigh, the other stiffly holding her pipe, on which she started absent-mindedly puffing. The smoke was another thing that kept people away, and Apollo fleetingly mused that her thoughts were drifting as much as the smoke coming from the pipe before she quickly admonished herself for making such a sloppy metaphor and returning to her own internal ruminations.

"I knew I shouldn't have let Endymion give you that." Apollo flinched and turned around to find her sister walking towards her with a basket in her hand. "It's going to destroy your lungs, and then how will you keep up your superb physique?" Serenity giggled, poking Apollo in her abdomen.

"I'll have your example to follow, little sister," Apollo countered, pinching at Serenity's butt.

"Hey!" exclaimed Serenity, plopping down in the chair next to Apollo. "First of all, I get along just fine with this ass, thank you very much, and second, you're only five minutes older than me."

Serenity started rummaging through her basket as Apollo sniffed, "Five minutes packed with maturity." The remark caused Serenity to look up at Apollo with tears in her eyes, and Apollo knew one of her sister's classic tantrums was about to start, but she wasn't above letting it happen. "See? You prove my point so well."

"APOLLO! WHY! ARE! YOU! SO! MEAN!" Serenity wailed, balling up her fists and letting loose a torrent of tears. Rei and Minako looked up from their tanning but laid right back down when they realized it was Serenity, that habitual wailer, causing such a scene. Apollo just sat back and continued puffing on her pipe, watching as her sister went through her classic stages of tears, screaming, more tears, short outburst of anger, then turning to food for comfort. The therapy of choice this time was a pack of sandwiches, which Serenity ripped into and devoured in minutes before taking out another pack from the basket and offering it to Apollo. "Hungry?"

"Sure." Apollo took the sandwiches and bit into one, chewing it methodically. "Do you have any…?"

"Here." Serenity handed her sister a container of hand-squeezed orange juice. "Another present from Endymion."

"Thank you." Apollo gratefully accepted the juice, putting her pipe down before gulping half of it down. "How are things between you and him anyway? I feel like we haven't spoken in so long."

"Because we haven't. You've been so busy training Ami."

"Mm, true."

"How is that going?"

"You're changing the subject."

"That's because mine isn't that interesting. Everything is fine, the wedding is still on, Endymion is spending today with his friends, blah blah blah."

"Oh, and mine is interesting?"

"Incredibly so."

An awkward silence descended between the two girls, broken only by Apollo clearing her throat before asking, "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Apollo, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"Is this why you came over here? To interrogate me?" Straightening up to fully intimidate Serenity, Apollo narrowed her eyes before demanding, "You don't think I'm doing a good enough job, Future Queen?"

Serenity hesitated for a moment, having completely forgotten just how cruel her sister could be when she was being defensive. But the crueler Apollo got, Serenity knew, the more she had to hide. "No," she answered plainly, injecting enough resolve into her tone to keep Apollo from responding. "That is not what I meant whatsoever, and you know that. Honestly, Apollo, did you really think I came to attack you?"

Apollo looked down, suddenly incredibly interested in the buttons on her shirt. "No."

"I didn't think so," Serenity sighed. She handed Apollo another sandwich as a peace offering, and the two sisters exchanged a smile before Serenity continued speaking. "I just want to know what's going on between you and Ami."

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, nothing. We've been training for nearly a month now, and just last week I started teaching Ami strategy and logistics. Intelligence. That kind of thing."

"Then what about that time in the library?"

Apollo stopped chewing on her sandwich. "What?"

"I was right there. I saw you two hugging."

"You?" Apollo raised an eyebrow. "In the library?"

"Oh, for the love of the gods..." Serenity sighed. "I was out on the balcony with Endymion and saw you through the glass windows, ok!"

"That's more believable."

"Fine, if that's too far-fetched for you to consider, how about you explain these rumors of Ami being in your bed in the morning?" Seeing Apollo stiffen considerably, Serenity decided to try to handle the subject delicately. "I heard the servants talking about it."

"Servants like to talk," Apollo coolly responded.

"I know, Apollo, but…"

"But nothing." That dangerously edgy tone was back in Apollo's voice. "A new princess arrives and immediately the rumors mill grinds into overdrive, huh?" Apollo stood up briskly, pushing her chair underneath the table. "They think that just because I let my guard down once that I'll fuck up again?"

"For your own sanity, I hope you don't." Serenity knew before she had even finished her sentence that she had touched an extremely raw nerve as the yellow specks in Apollo's eyes blazed with an anger-wrought intensity. "Apollo, please, I'm only looking out for you." Getting up, the younger sister reached for her older sister's hand, but Apollo pulled her own away as if burned.

"Good day, Serenity," she hissed, bowing shallowly before storming off, leaving a thunderstruck Serenity, who could only think of how her worst fears had now been confirmed.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 7 _

"Fuck!" Apollo was stomping down the main hallway of the palace, her fists clenched. She ignored the stares she was getting and continued cursing under her breath. "Fucking Serenity, what does she know?" Stomp. "Like she even gives a shit about what's going on in my life, she's got Endymion, and I have…" Apollo stopped walking and whispered, "No one." Before she could control herself, Apollo punched the wall, hearing the crunch of her knuckles coming in contact with the cold concrete and feeling the skin on her fingers split open. As she looked down at her bleeding hand, Apollo heard a sharp gasp to her left. She looked up to find Michiru staring at her, her normally relentless confidence visibly shaken. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hearing Apollo's voice, Michiru managed to look away from the blonde's rapidly blackening hand and composed herself in an impressively short moment. "Temper, temper, Apollo. I would have thought I'd earned some points in your book for turning down the volume during my bouts of pleasure."

Michiru smirked, and Apollo couldn't help but feel the anger and resentment she had just released welling up deep inside her again. Right now, anything that stood between her and her room was an insufferable annoyance, but Apollo knew she had to calm herself down or risk hurting a fellow princess. She wrapped her right hand around the left one, pushed the knuckles that had been displaced back into their sockets, and glared at Michiru. "Is that what you call having sex on the balcony for everyone to see?" she spit out.

"Well, at least they don't hear us anymore." Apollo shook her head, holding her hand tighter to try to stop the bleeding. "You know, you should really treat that. Why don't you…?" Michiru tried.

"You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why are you here?"

At that moment, Ami walked out of her own bedchamber, carrying a swimsuit, towel, and goggles. She smiled broadly at Michiru, causing Apollo to clench her fists again without realizing she was doing it, eliciting a sharp yelp of pain from the general. Ami suddenly noticed Apollo and immediately ran over to her side, delicately grabbing her injured hand. "Apollo! Gods! What happened?!"

"She…" Michiru started to say before Apollo cut her off, saying, "Nothing. It's nothing." She pulled her hand back and walked past both girls, to enter her own bedchamber, refusing to meet Ami's gaze but pausing momentarily to stare down Michiru. "It was never anything," Apollo finished, slamming her door in the faces of two very confused girls.

Ami approached the door and lifted her hand to knock, but she decided against it at the last moment and turned back around to Michiru. "Just give me a minute, ok?"

* * *

Apollo slumped against the closed door, shutting her eyes in an effort to control the pain traveling through her hand and up her arm. "Mind over matter, Apollo, remember what Orpheus told you. Mind over matter," she muttered aloud, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter. 

"Who's Orpheus?"

Apollo's eyes snapped open to find Ami standing in the middle of the room, a puzzled expression on her face. Although a part of her was happy that someone—and especially Ami—cared enough to see if she was ok, Apollo suddenly felt indignant about the fact that the private solitude she had been seeking since her argument with her sister had been interrupted. "What are you doing in here?"

Ami hesitated when she heard Apollo's tone but stepped forward anyway. "Apollo, are you all right?" Pointing down to Apollo's left hand, Ami asked, "Do you want me to get you anything?"

"I want you to get out," Apollo responded without thinking. She knew her instinctual anger was controlling her speech right now, and that she would regret what she was saying soon, but she couldn't stop herself; Apollo couldn't handle being weak, let alone having someone else see her in such a state.

"Excuse me?"

"Please," Apollo managed to add, trying to keep the situation under control.

"But you're hurt, you need medical attention!" Ami made a decisive move forward, gently grabbing Apollo's hand.

"I said go!" Quickly pulling her hand away from Ami's grasp, simultaneously ignoring the pleasing sensation of another's touch and the searing pain of having again dislodged some knuckles, Apollo quickly moved past Ami to the balcony and turned her back to the shell-shocked Mercurian princess. "You have things to do anyway," she whispered as an afterthought.

"Nothing as important as taking care of you right now, Apollo."

Apollo fought the urge to turn around by accidentally focusing on Michiru's smug expression as Ami walked out of her bedchamber. Unfortunately, this made the blonde even angrier, and she finally did turn around to stare right at Ami, who gulped and visibly cowered. "You don't want to be here."

"What! Yes, I do. How can you say that?"

"Just leave, Ami. Go with Michiru."

A sense of realization was apparent on Ami's face. "You're angry that I'm spending time with Michiru?"

"This conversation is over."

"Why do you hate her so much?"

"Again, this conversation is over. You were supposed to be resting today."

"'Supposed to be'?! It's my day off!"

"Yes, well, it's best to be resting on your day off." Apollo walked over to her chest of drawers, pulled out a bandage strip, and started wrapping it around her left hand. When she saw Ami take a step forward out of the corner of her eye, Apollo continued, "Not spending the day doing gods knows what."

"I don't see you reprimanding Rei and Minako for tanning all day."

Apollo knew Ami was starting to catch on, so she pulled out the only card she had to ensure an automatic win. "Sailor Mercury," Apollo said, turning to attention towards Ami. "I order you to leave my quarters."

"You're joking, right?"

"I just gave you an order."

The look on Ami's face perfectly evoked her status as the senshi of ice as she hung her head and turned to open the door. Before walking out, Ami looked back at Apollo and said, "Everyone always thought they would control me, Apollo. I thought you were different." When she saw Apollo's eyes widen, Ami slammed the door and approached Michiru, who was sitting on the windowsill outside the bedchamber. "Let's go."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 8_

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Ok, on three. One! Two! Three!"

Ami started swimming on Michiru's mark, kicking gracefully through the water and trying to keep up with her opponent. Once she had counted out 10 laps, Ami stopped at the wall and took her goggles off. "I suppose you won, Michiru," she sighed, forcing a smile towards the other girl.

Michiru snorted. "You call that a victory? Granted, you're better on a bad day than most of the girls here on their best days, but I still wasn't competing against you."

"What? Yes you were, I was right here, swimming along behind you."

"No, Ami, that's the point: you _weren't_ here." Ami blinked furiously and looked away, noticing that she had unconsciously made a fist and was now digging her nails into the palm of that hand. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

At this, Ami looked up to see that Michiru's normally smug expression had softened somewhat; it was the first time Ami had seen the Neptune princess's defenses seemingly back down, but Ami was not about to let yet another person see her vulnerable today. "No," she lied.

"Right," Michiru stated, shaking her head and lifting herself out of the pool. "Well, if you do happen to want to know, Apollo will be all right. She gets like this sometimes."

Ami also lifted herself out of the pool and in spite of herself felt a growing sense of curiosity. "She does?" Ami blushed lightly when Michiru smirked knowingly at her. "I mean, she has these…these…?"

"Temper tantrums? Yes. Regularly. Not as often as her sister, but when she does have them, she goes all out."

"Oh. Why?"

"I have no idea. She always does some silly thing to hurt herself then has to summon all her mage power to heal herself. Gods know she probably broke her hand just now but doesn't want anyone else to help her."

"Mage power?" Forgetting for a moment the subject of Apollo, Ami leaned forward with rapt attention and asked, "What's a mage?"

"I'm not too sure. All I know is that Apollo is one, and she has magical abilities that go far beyond anything any of us senshi will ever learn." Michiru paused, splashing the water with a toe. "Maybe that's why she's always so pissy around everyone, because we remind her of how carefree she could be."

Ami took a deep breath and spoke. "She seems particularly angry around you."

"Yeah, well."

"Why is that?"

Michiru suddenly looked right at Ami, her brow furrowed in confusion. "You mean she didn't tell you?"

This time it was Ami's turn to look confused. "Tell me what?"

Michiru sighed again, sadness creeping into her features. "I probably shouldn't tell you. She and I may have our differences, but I wouldn't want to betray her feelings like that."

"So you care for her?"

"I care for Haruka, Ami."

"I know, that's not what I meant, it's just that you seem to know so much about Apollo, more than anyone else has told me."

"Yes, I do care about Apollo, just like all of the princesses. She's our leader. She's the twin sister of the woman we've been tasked with protecting."

"It can't be that simple," Ami protested as Michiru started to get up. Ami grabbed Michiru's hand and whispered, "Michiru, please. Tell me." She paused, relaxing her grip on Michiru's hand and shamefully looking away. "Were you two…involved?"

Without really meaning to, Michiru let out a laugh and sat back down, answering, "I wish! I'm sure all that pent-up rage makes her amazing in bed. Oh, Ami, calm down!" A feverish blush had crept all over Ami's face, which the Mercurian princess was trying to hide with her hands. "I'm just joking around! I only have my own fantasies to play off of, since it's not like Haruka ever told me anything about what a good fuck Apollo was." As soon as she had finished speaking, Michiru's eyes went wide as she realized what she had just let slip.

Ami, for her part, brought her hands back down to her lap and narrowed her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing, forget it. I was just joking again."

"No you weren't, Michiru." There was the ice princess demeanor again, the icy stare and frigid tone of voice. "What did you say about Haruka and Apollo?"

Realizing that she had no choice, Michiru said, "They were the ones who were involved, Ami."

Ami's eyes were now slits. "When?"

"A while ago. Before most of the other princesses got here."

"How involved?"

"Lovers, Ami. They were lovers. And they were in love. Are. I don't know."

Her hands balled into fists, Ami was able only to whisper her next question. "'Are'?"

"Haruka is with me now. She loves me, and I love her. But why do you think Apollo hates me so much?"

Ami's jaw dropped, and Michiru saw that the meaning of her explanation had gotten through to the younger princess. Just as tears started to well up in Ami's eyes, Minako ran into the poolroom, breathing heavily from running. "Michiru! Ami! Come quick!"

"What? Why?" Michiru responded, trying to shield Ami, whose tears were now falling down her face.

"Fencing match."

"Whose?"

"Apollo's." Minako whispered excitedly. "And trust me, you don't want to miss this."

* * *

Apollo was standing at one end of the fencing mat, black suit glistening in the light. Her opponent, a young soldier, was facing her with a noticeable amount of fear; he had just watched his general defeat one opponent after another, and the only reason he had decided to challenge her was because he wanted to earn some respect from his comrades, who were at this very moment shouting words of encouragement to him.

Apollo, on the other hand, was only here for sport. She had heard the murmurs that had reverberated through the gymnasium when she entered, sabre in one hand, facemask in the other, tersely asking if she could join in on the mini competition going on between the soldiers off for the day. It had been a very long time since she had fenced—there was either no time or no one worthy enough to challenge her--but today she felt the need channel her anger into something at least remotely constructive. And since her favorite horse was being prepared to help pull the carriages that were to enter the palace the following evening, there was no other escape.

However surprising she knew her return to the fencing area was, she hadn't expected to have an audience of this size; last she looked, almost all the off-duty soldiers were there, and even Rei, Hotaru, and Minako had shown up and were standing on the upper level watching the action. No one cheered for her, which she preferred, but she still knew that most if not all of the words being exchanged between spectators were about what could have possibly set off the stern, isolated general enough for her to stoop down to the level of army grunts. And, Apollo knew, they were all waiting for a good fight to come out of her.

'Pity,' she thought, 'They won't get it this time.' Raising her sword to signal the start of the match, Apollo waited until her opponent had also raised and subsequently lowered his sword perpendicular to his body before stepping forward in one fluid motion and stabbing the young soldier's padded suit with her sabre. He instantly stopped, looking down with a dumbfounded expression as his sword fell to the ground. "Oh, too bad, Private," Apollo stated flatly. "I suppose I won. Again."

"Yes," the soldier whispered dejectedly, taking off his helmet. His comrades all seemed disappointed as well, though none stepped forward to take their fallen ally's place.

"Good fight, Private." Apollo extended her hand, and the soldier shook it weakly before walking away with his friends to the locker rooms. Taking off her helmet, Apollo surveyed the crowd. "Would anyone else like to challenge me?" No one moved. "Well?"

"I will," a voice answered, its owner walking out of the locker room at Apollo's end.

The blonde turned towards her new opponent and a moment of shock registered on her features, but it was soon replaced by a nasty smirk as Apollo narrowed her eyes and bowed sarcastically. "Of course."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

Additional notes (7/19/07): I apologize immensely for the extremely long amount of time between this chapter and the previous one. Unfortunately, within the span of two months, I graduated college, moved to a different state, changed jobs, and started taking classes again, all while having to deal with lots of fun doctor visits. I know I left you all hanging, but now that I am at least somewhat settled, I will hopefully be able to update more consistently. After all, we're hitting the home stretch with the story now...

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 9_

Ami had no idea what she was doing here; after all, just moments earlier, she had wanted to leave the palace altogether, convinced of the folly of coming to it in the first place. Her impulse was hindered by the realization that her purpose in coming to the Moon was to protect the Queen and her younger daughter, but the internal struggle occurring within Ami's mind—and her heart, she grudgingly admitted—was whether the guilt of one of Serenity's daughters was enough to outweigh the innocence of the other.

Staring at Apollo, Ami felt the familiar feeling of isolation starting to grip her, coupled with a new emotion, one she had never fully felt before: betrayal. True, she had been abandoned by childhood friends who had considered her a social pariah, and her initial reaction upon being told by her parents that she was being sent to the Moon was a silent but definitive feeling of being cast away. But this? This was different, as if she had made the effort to open herself up only to receive a slap in the face in return.

_She didn't know how you felt_, a little voice inside her whispered.

'Oh come off it,' she scoffed. 'I was so obvious.'

_Were you? You don't have any experience. You might have been doing it wrong._

'Coming into her room at night? Getting into bed and sleeping beside her? Even I know that's not normal behavior between friends.'

_Maybe it is for her._

Ami furrowed her brow, ignoring the fact that Apollo had just done the same. 'What?'

_She's had to deal with a lot of girls leaving their families behind to be under her direct tutelage. Maybe they all cling to her like you did. After all, it's not like you've had anyone else to get close to._

'But…but, what about the way she's been treating me? The gifts, the embraces, the way she cares about me…'

_She probably does that with all the girls to make them feel less homesick._

Dumbfounded, Ami finally looked away from Apollo and grimaced in annoyance at the tenacity of her own logic. 'Fine,' she conceded, 'I was probably wrong. I misunderstood the situation, I let myself believe that someone cared about me…'

…_she might actually…_

'…and I stupidly opened myself up. Fine. No more of that. I'll just make sure I'm the same Ami here as I was on Mercury.'

The little voice was silent as Ami sighed deeply. Before she could resume her brooding and pronounced refusal to look at Apollo, despite feeling the blonde's piercing black gaze on her, an audible gasp forced Ami to glance at Minako.

"Ami, loo—what's wrong?"

Quickly, imperceptibly, Ami rearranged her features to seem as indifferent as possible. "Nothing."

"Ok…anyway, look!" Minako pointed over the railing and down at the gymnasium floor, where Ami saw that Apollo was no longer looking up towards her dark corner but was facing a new opponent. Ami craned her neck to see who had stepped up to the challenge refused by so many others but was unable to see properly; in any case, without meaning it to be so, her entire vision was focused on Apollo's black-clad form, now visibly tense despite a slight smirk playing along her delicately hardened features.

"Haruka," Michiru whispered from behind Ami. "Of course.'

As Ami's eyes widened in cautious apprehension at the way things were playing out, she heard Minako squeal, "Oh, this is going to be even better than I thought!"

* * *

"It's been quite some time since we've done this, Haruka," Apollo said, her mild surprise vanishing into the slightly contemptuous smirk she was now brandishing. 

"Yeah," answered Haruka, refusing to break eye contact. "And from what I recall, last time we did do this, I won."

A murmur rippled through the watching crowd, and Apollo narrowed her eyes dangerously before stating, calmly, coldly, "I let you win." When she saw Haruka open her mouth to protest, Apollo narrowed her eyes further, pointed to the corner where she had spotted, much to her dismay, Ami entering the gymnasium with Michiru, and spat, "So you could impress _her._"

The murmuring became louder, but Apollo could still hear Michiru exclaim, "Gods!" Haruka, meanwhile, had simply scowled and put on her mask, a sure sign, Apollo knew, that her former best friend's confidence was faltering. It had been a low blow, she knew, but Apollo doubted that Haruka's intentions in challenging her were entirely pure.

Apollo's suspicions were confirmed when, as she was walking to take her position, Haruka stopped and whispered, "So I take it today you'll be trying to impress _her_?" The older girl nodded towards the same corner Apollo had just pointed at, where both water-obsessed princesses were now leaning over the railing, watching the scene.

"Jealous?" Apollo asked, once more stopping Haruka from answering by continuing, " No need to answer. If you make this easy for me, you're not. If you make it difficult for me, you are." Again, Apollo was aware of a very good chance that she was wrong, that her oversimplification of the situation had ignored too many conditionals, but the silence she got as a response was proof enough that the match was definitely set on her terms. Apollo put on her mark, walked into position at her own end, and raised her sabre up to her chest.

* * *

The match that followed, much to Apollo's delight both at being right and at having a worthy adversary, was a heated one, punctuated by shouts from the crowd. 

"Jab! Jab!" screamed Rei, who had moved towards Minako, Michiru, and Ami once the fight had begun, while a terrified Hotaro stood next to her.

"A match like this the day before a gala...who knew we would be so lucky?"

"Lucky," Ami said flatly, but Minako didn't hear her over the din and roar of the crowd, which had just responded with cheers after Apollo had back-flipped away from an oncoming Haruka.

"Hey Rei," Minako called, moving even closer to her Martian friend. "A bottle of the finest perfume from Venus says Apollo's got this."

Rei smirked. "You're on. A pair of Mars' most beautiful hand-made shoes on Haruka winning."

"Yeah, like she's actually going to. Did you see how angry Apollo was?"

"So? Haruka won last time didn't she?"

Minako and Rei continued arguing over who had the better odds of winning the match, oblivious to the fact that Ami and Michiru were now leaning back against the wall, silently but resolutely avoiding each other's gaze.

"Plus, Haruka's so much big—"

"I'd bet on Apollo." Everyone turned to find the younger Serenity casually standing in front of them, glancing every now and then down at the match. "Unless she's got some emotional impulse to lose," she finished, with an important glance towards Ami and Michiru, both of whom blushed lightly and once again looked away.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd, and all six princesses leaned over the railing, surveying the scene below. Haruka was lying down, propped up on her elbows, her sabre halfway across the room. Apollo, on the other hand, was standing over her defeated opponent, pointing her own sabre at Haruka's chest.

* * *

It was over, but Apollo knew that it hadn't been easy. Still, a small part of her was hesitating to officially end the mach by jabbing her sabre at Haruka. 

Sensing Apollo's hesitation, Haruka took the opportunity to take off her mask and whisper loudly, "So! You did want to impress her!"

"And you were jealous." Having said these words, something clicked inside Apollo, and she forcefully but gracefully lunged forward to jab Haruka, who continued to lie on the floor, completely stunned. Apollo took off her mask, kneeled down so that her face was level with Haruka's, and said, simply, evenly, "We're done."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 10_

By the next morning, all talk in the palace had turned from that night's gala to the match of the previous day. No one had heard what Apollo had last said to Haruka; not even Michiru, who had run down to Haruka's side after Apollo had thrown her facemask to the ground and, followed by all eyes in the room, stormed out of the gymnasium, knew what had transpired between the two.

Since then, rumors circulated around the palace, goaded along by a triumphant Minako, who was strutting around in her new shows while a disgruntled Rei sat in the courtyard, conjuring fire and grumbling every time Minako sashayed past.

Knowing that Haruka and Michiru would, by then, have holed themselves up in either of their bedchambers, the younger Serenity decided to risk her sister's displeasure and ask her directly about what had happened. Knocking three times in rapid succession, Serenity stepped back and held her breath expectantly. But, after waiting a few minutes, Serenity realized that there was no movement from behind the door. Flustered, Serenity moved forward and was about to knock again when she saw Ami come around the corner and shuffle down the hallway. "Ami!" she exclaimed, grateful for a reason to prolong the inevitable confrontation with her sister. "How are you?"

"All right," answered Ami, barely lifting her head. "And how are you, Princess Serenity?" she asked, curtsying delicately.

Confused by the formality before her, Serenity stood with mouth agape for a moment before muttering, "Good. Good. Just trying to get into my sister's room."

"I wish you luck with that."

"Uh…thanks. I think." An awkward silence fell between them as Serenity bit her lip nervously and Ami became engrossed in counting the tiles on the floor. The silence stretched on until, finally, Serenity perked up and asked tentatively, "Ami, may I go inside your room for a moment?"

"Of course, Princess Serenity." Ami stepped forward and unlocked her door, standing aside as Serenity rushed in and darted towards the parlor door. Wrenching it open, she stomped through the doorway and into the parlor, when Ami heard a knob being rattled ferociously. "It's locked."

"What?!" Serenity shrieked, now back in Ami's room.

"It's locked."

"Yes, I can see that. But why is—"

"I had already gone to bed when she came back." Ami paused, picking up a book from her bedside table to indicate that she had been up reading and not, as she knew Serenity believed, crying. "I heard her come in and go over to lock the door. Then I suppose she went to bed."

"But…" Serenity looked frantically back at the door. "She never locks that door!"

In response, Ami shrugged, forced all the emotion out of her voice, and stated, "I suppose she does now."

Serenity stared at the Mercurian princess, the girl…no, the woman who had agreed to risk her life on a daily basis all in service to the Moon crown, in utter disbelief of how passive aggressive such skilled and clever warriors could possibly be. "Gods!" she suddenly yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Is this some big practical joke to annoy me, or are you all really just absolute gits?!"

"I—"

"You and Apollo are exactly the same, Ami!" The blue-haired princess stood at attention upon hearing her name but did not argue against an increasingly infuriated Serenity. "Neither of you appreciate that I'm trying to clean up this mess you've gotten yourselves in, and I!" Serenity stalked to the bedchamber door. "Am!" She threw it open and rounded back on Ami, who looked thoroughly bewildered. "Sick of it!" And the door slammed, leaving Ami with the fading echoes of Serenity's accusations.

* * *

Apollo had stirred but not woken when Serenity knocked at her door, but the sound of someone trying to get through the parlor door made her wake with a start. She apprehensively watched the knob jiggle then heard a soft voice from beyond the wall, followed by her sister's characteristic outside voice predictably being used indoors. Despite being able to hear only Serenity's side of the conversation, Apollo assumed that she was speaking to Ami. When Apollo heard Serenity say her and Ami's names, followed by the sound of a slamming door, her stomach gave a lurch and she realized, with a sardonic smile, that she had completely overslept breakfast and her fitting appointment. 

"Great," she grumbled, swinging her feet out of bed and onto the floor. "What else can go wrong?" Glancing at the black fencing outfit crumpled on the floor then directing her gaze to her no longer broken but still bruised left hand, Apollo sighed dejectedly. "I'm just asking for the wrath of the gods, aren't I?" she asked no one in particularly, calmed, at least, by the knowledge that she had had the good sense to make sure there were no pressing military matters to tend to the day of the gala.

Dressing quickly, with a few glances at the parlor door and its now-dormant knob, Apollo checked that her appearance was sufficiently tidy and well-groomed and opened her bedchamber door, just in time to see Ami also open her door then immediately slam it shut upon seeing the neighboring door open.

Seething but refusing to let anger and sadness overwhelm her, Apollo turned left and walked towards the T-section that would lead her to the main hallway of the palace. Before taking the right, however, she looked up and made eye contact with Haruka, who, mirroring Ami's earlier change of mind, immediately pivoted and walked back in the direction from which she had just come. Apollo watched her until Haruka reached Michiru's door, which opened to reveal a surprised Michiru who, after exchanging a few words with Haruka, pulled her girlfriend into the room, scowled at Apollo even from this great a distance, and slammed the door.

'I guess it's "Slam the Door in Apollo's Face Day",' Apollo mused, and before she could stop herself, she was laughing at not only the lackluster quality of her joke but at the sheer absurdity and emotional heft of her predicament. 'Ok, ok,' she mentally admonished herself, 'I need to get fitted or else Mother will kill me for showing up to the gala naked.' Laughing anew at that mental image, which had temporarily pushed out the image of a crestfallen Ami from her mind, Apollo finally took a right and soon joined the surging crowd of servants, military personnel, and diplomats moving through the palace in preparation for the gala.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 11 _

Already feeling queasy from the sensation of the ambassador's arm hooked through her own, Ami had a full-blown hurricane raging through her insides now that the traditional plan of presenting the planetary princesses in increasing order of their distance from the sun had been implemented at the gala. Forgetting for a moment about Apollo's recent indiscretions against her, Ami wished more than anything that the sun senshi was now descending the stairs before her. 'Then we'd actually be in order,' Ami thought ruefully, craning her neck to look back behind the other princesses and their respective ambassadors but failing to catch a glimpse of Queen Serenity and her two daughters all the way at the back.

"Princess Mercury," the ambassador snapped, pulling Ami around so that she was fully facing forward. "Please pay attention, we are about to enter the ballroom."

Before she could respond with more than a deep blush that the ambassador could not properly ascertain, Ami felt an attendant lightly nudge her forward through a set of tall, white double doors inlaid with the carved astrological symbols of each planet, with the Moon's symbol linking both doors in the middle. The room behind the doors was full of people all staring at her, but Ami's nervousness was temporarily shocked out of her when she saw the snow-white carpet beneath her feet, leading down to a white-stoned dance floor surrounded by tables covered by white linens, gleaming china, and vases filled with the most beautiful pink and white flowers Ami had ever seen, encircled by black napkins folded and placed to resemble the undulating waves of the ocean. Fleetingly, Ami wondered if Apollo had requested the wave formation, but before she could ruminate over it further, the ambassador was leading Ami down the stairs, elbowing her every few seconds in an effort to force her to straighten up stiffly.

"Don't make me look bad," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth, afterwards instantly plastering on a fake smile and turning back towards the crowd, thereby missing Ami roll her eyes in a very un-princess-like way.

* * *

"I want to be on the left side!" 

"You can't, Serenity."

"WHY NOT?!"

Apollo cringed at the sound of her sister's whining. "Because you're mother's right-hand man, so to speak."

"What?"

"You're my heir," chimed in Queen Serenity, positioning herself between her two daughters. "So you go on my right." The younger Serenity opened her mouth to protest, but the Queen cut her off, saying, "End of discussion."

"Anyway, Serenity, the left side is the side of evil, so you don't want to be over here."

"But you're not evil, Apollo!"

"Maybe…" Apollo narrowed her eyes and hunched her shoulders. "I am!" She leaned forward to grab at Serenity, who started squealing in horror.

"Stop making me look bad!" Queen Serenity yelled, pulling her daughters apart to opposite sides of her before all three women burst out in giggles that followed them through the open and waiting doors.

* * *

For once, Ami was glad that her planet's ambassador was so self-serving and self-important; his insistence on greeting the visiting royals from Earth, including Endymion, who looked a bit upset about not being with his fiancée, had allowed Ami to shuffle over and stand next to Minako while the ambassador was relegated to the end of the row. 

"Haruka looks like she's about to punch the ambassador from Neptune," Minako said, pointing across the floor to where Ami could see Haruka shooting a death glare towards the man on Michiru's arm. "She always pretends she's not the jealous type, but come on. We all know how jealous she can get."

"Sure," Ami responded, but she was still concentrating on watching Haruka, who was now whispering heatedly with Michiru behind the Neptune ambassador's back. A stray thought was rising to the surface of Ami's mind, but before she could latch on to I concretely, Minako spoke again.

"Everyone looks so beautiful in their gowns..." She smiled slyly before whispering excitedly, "But no one has shoes like mine!" Minako lifted the bottom of her dress slightly and stretched her right leg out to show off the shoes she had won, eliciting a loud, defiant snort from the general direction of where Rei was standing with the Martian ambassador. Ignoring the noise, Minako continued, "I bet Apollo will wear a tuxedo again."

"A tuxedo?"

"Or that military outfit of her's. Whatever. She wore it last time, and yeah, she looked good, stern, but good, but even so, she never tries to dress up at…at…"

MInako trailed off, but Ami didn't have to ask why because at that very moment, she, along with everyone else in the room, had turned towards the top of the stairs; there stood Queen Serenity, her pristinely white gown blending into the carpet, set off only by the thin silver trim sewn into the vertical folds of the gown. To her right, Princess Serenity was beaming down at the crowd, relaxed and comfortably in her peasant-top gown of light pink.

But the stunned silence that had inhabited the room was, undoubtedly, the fault Serenity's twin sister, with whom tonight, it seemed, she shared little if any resemblance. Apollo's athletic and poised body was clothed in a sumptuous gown of deepest black with a splash of muted yellow, its narrowest point set at Apollo's left breast and twisting downwards in an increasingly widening arc around the front and back of the gown before ending, finally, directly over Apollo's left ankle.

As the blonde surveyed the room critically, Ami's jaw dropped in surprise when she saw that the black eyes she had become so accustomed to now had blazingly bright flecks of yellow in them, brighter, even, than when Apollo had admonished Ami what seemed like ages ago. Their gazes met for a moment, but before either could show any sign of recognition or, perhaps, regret, Apollo broke eye contact and continued coldly studying the crowd before her.

"Wow," breathed Minako from beside Ami. "She's certainly gone all out, hasn't she?"

"Yes," answered Ami, staring as Apollo made her way down the stairs with her mother and sister, feeling, for the first time, a carnal desire deep in the pit of her stomach, one that refused to consider all that Ami had learned and experienced the previous day. "She certainly has."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 12_

Halfway through the gala, it was abundantly clear to the princesses that two among them—Ami and Apollo—were avoiding each other, although they were also stealing furtive glances at each other every few minutes and quickly turning away when someone caught them in the act. Ami was sitting at her table, her hands folded in her lap and her back straightened almost uncomfortably, watching the people milling about her, wringing a black napkin in her hands and averting her gaze from anyone who looked her way. When she thought there was no way Apollo could see her, Ami watched the blonde moving confidently through the room, fascinated by how well Apollo held herself in such a large crowd. For her part, Ami's nervousness hadn't eased up whatsoever since she entered the ballroom and she thus hadn't vacated her seat the entire night.

"Woo!" whistled Minako, plopping down in her chair beside Ami, Rei similarly collapsing unto the one beside Minako. Both of the girls were red-faced and sweaty from dancing, and they each turned back around to smile at the two military officers standing a few feet behind them. After they had received stern nods in response, Minako and Rei both looked at Ami, who steeled herself for what was to come. "You should dance!"

"Minako's right, Ami. It's too much fun not to." All three girls looked up to see Haruka twirling past them with Michiru on her arm, winking at the trio before dancing away.

"Um…uh…my feet hurt," Ami explained blandly. "You know, my shoes."

"Take them off then!" Minako lifted up the tablecloth to reveal her bare feet.

"Oh…"

"Minako, I can't believe you took those off! You're disrespecting the great craftsmen of Mars!"

"Oh, whatever Rei, don't take everything so seriously."

"I am not taking anything se—"

"Excuse me?"

Rei and Minako saw him before Ami did, and the squeals they emitted almost made the military private now standing before Ami reconsider his decision to come over to her. Ignoring Minako's covert jabs into her back, Ami glanced up to find a tall brown-haired, green-eyed young man looking down at her, an expectant smile playing along his soft features. "Yes?" she managed to get out, by now trying extra hard to also ignore the quiet giggles coming from behind her.

"Would you like to dance?"

Widening her eyes in absolute shock, Ami was rendered momentarily speechless. She instinctively searched for Apollo in the crowd, but the general was nowhere to be found. Realizing that she could no longer withhold a response, Ami half-reluctantly stood up and said, "Yes, I would like that."

As she let herself be led to the dance floor by the handsome young man, Ami was concentrating too hard on not blushing upon hearing hoots and hollers from Rei and Minako to sense someone staring at her; it was only when the young man had brought her close to him, so that they were chest to chest and Ami could see over his shoulder, that she made eye contact with Apollo, whose eyes had once more become all black.

* * *

She was puffing on her pipe almost compulsively now, inhaling the smoke as deeply as possible so that it burned inside her lungs and seared her throat. Apollo couldn't bear to think of how she had just run from the gala onto the main balcony, bypassing anyone who made a move to talk to her for the preferable comfort of the outdoors and the night sky. She looked up at the stars, failing to push the image of someone else holding Ami in their arms from her mind; in anger, she slammed her right fist against the railing, smashing the marble top into several small pieces. 

"You won't have any hands left if you keep punching things."

For a second, Apollo felt the familiar deep-seeded rage rising to the surface, and she knew her eyes now contained specks of red mingled with the black; managing to push it all back down, Apollo took her pipe out of her mouth and whispered scathingly, "Funny."

"I know, I'm hilarious." A short silence, followed by, "I actually came out here to help you." A pause. "With Ami."

"And why would you, of all people, want to help me, especially after what happened?"

"Because I was the one who told her about Haruka and you."

"What?!" Apollo rounded on Michiru. "What did you tell her?!"

"I told her that you were once lovers," Michiru said, a sad smile on her face. "And that you were angry with me because I took her from you."

"That's not the only reason I'm angry with you."

Michiru made eye contact with Apollo, who suddenly felt foolish and looked away. "Anyway, I suppose Ami tried to put two and two together and figured you were still in love with Haruka."

"I'm not," Apollo hissed, establishing eye contact again. "But now I see that she's angry at me because of you."

"She's not angry at you, Apollo."

"Oh, no? You mean avoiding me all day, slamming the door in my face, dancing with…with…" Apollo pointed back inside, her eyes misting over. "Him! That's all just been some roundabout Mercurian way of showing someone how much you care about them?"

"That's not what I—"

"Then what are you saying?"

Before continuing, Michiru regarded Apollo almost as if she pitied her. "Gods, sometimes you're exactly like Haruka. She also always thinks women's actions are straightforward." Michiru saw that she had gotten through somewhat to Apollo, and the blonde did not interrupt Michiru as she went on, "It's pretty obvious that Ami cares very deeply for you, Apollo, to a greater extent than most of the rest of us did when we first got to the palace. And knowing you, you haven't exactly been able to keep your feelings under control either. So she started letting herself believe that something might be developing between you two, and for someone who comes from such a sheltered background as Ami does, that's a really big deal. When she found out that what she had thought was happening was unrequited, she understandably felt stupid for misinterpreting your actions. She's not mad at you, Apollo, she's mad at herself, and embarrassed that she thought you two might be something more than friends. That's why she's been avoiding you."

"But we could," Apollo hesitated, scared to open herself up to Michiru, who by this point was standing right next to Apollo, her own hand resting on the younger girl's hand. "I mean, I have feelings for her, I just…I just can't."

"Why not? You just said you weren't in love with Haruka."

"I know, and I'm not. It's something else."

"The same reason you don't let yourself get close to anyone?"

Apollo jerked her head up, staring at Michiru as she smiled knowingly. "How did you…?"

"I overheard a conversation between Setsuna and one of the scribes once. Anyway, they've all written about you extensively, it's pretty easy to figure out what your fate is."

"Do you think Ami knows?"

"Probably not, despite how many books she reads on a weekly basis. It's not exactly common knowledge. But I think you should tell her. You can't keep leading her on without giving her the truth."

Taking a moment to let this advice sink in, Apollo finally cleared her throat and asked, "Michiru?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you really helping me?"

The two women were now facing each other, the contrast between them made even sharper by the black of Apollo's gown and the coral of Michiru's. The aquamarine-haired princess squeezed Apollo's hand, leaned in close, and whispered in Apollo's ear, "Because I was in love with you too once, Apollo, and look where _my_ unrequited love got us."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Chapter 13 _

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"What? Why?"

"I just…I just do."

"But—"

"I'm really sorry, I don't mean to hurt you. It's not about you."

"So?"

"I just have to leave."

"Will you come back later?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe. I'm sorry. Enjoy the rest of the night."

* * *

Apollo couldn't remember the last time she was so disrespectful as to leave a fully attended gala, but one significant look to her twin and the younger Serenity had distracted their mother long enough for Apollo to leave. 

'I think I had good enough reason to go,' she tried to convince herself, walking through the empty garden in a roundabout route to her bedchamber. Her mind, so clear just a month ago, was not racing with vivid images:

Haruka lounging in a chair, watching Apollo get dressed…

Michiru pushing Apollo's bangs out of her eyes, giggling at the blonde's indignant huff…

Haruka and Michiru in bed together, yelling after Apollo as she ran from the room…

Michiru's body so close to her's, telling Apollo what the younger girl had never considered…

Apollo stopped walking and delicately touched her neck, where the feeling of Michiru's breath still lingered. For a moment, Apollo had had the urge to kiss Michiru, to pull her away from the gala and finally give in to the temptation of the Netupinian's luscious lips and milky skin. But the desire had passed just as quickly as it had come, and she hadn't considered why, not even when Michiru had silently retreated from her to rejoin the gala, until now, when her thoughts were invaded by a brilliantly vivid image: Ami, in her blue silk pajamas, curled up in Apollo's bed, glasses perched upon her nose, reading yet another book. But it wasn't this part of the memory that warmed Apollo's inside but the moment immediately following it when Apollo had started preparing the couch for her to sleep on but looked up just in time to see Ami momentarily frown sadly.

"She did have feelings for me! Holy shit!" Apollo exclaimed, cringing instinctively and looking up to the sky to whisper a heartfelt apology to the gods. Admittedly, a part of her had always known, but consciously she couldn't have brought herself to believe it.

But now…now everything seemed to make sense and Apollo could see all the subtle hints that had been left for her. She slapped her palm against her forehead. "Of course! She's too introverted to have told me outright." Apollo started walking back to the gala. "How could I have been so thick? Gods, I'm an idiot!"

She continued retracing her steps back to the ballroom when another image, that of Ami being pulled into the arms of the very same military private Apollo had defeated in one of the previous day's matches, caused her to stop dead in her tracks. The feeling of elation that had consumed her upon realizing that Ami cared for her was now sinking quickly, dropping like a dead weight in her stomach.

"Fuck," Apollo sighed, hanging her head. She turned towards the entrance to the palace, intent on reaching her bedchamber as quickly as possible. "I'm too late." A streak of aquamarine hair registered in the corner of her eye. "Again."

* * *

Sullen, Apollo trudged back to her bedchamber and stormed inside, slamming the door shut and kicking her black stilettos off. After taking off her jewelry, Apollo stretched her arm back to try to pull down the zipper, but it was impossible; within seconds, she was gritting her teeth in frustration and inadvertently smacking herself on the back in an effort to pull the zipper further down. 

"Would you like some help, Apollo?" a teeny voice whispered from behind Apollo, who jumped at the noise and pivoted to see Ami standing in the parlor doorway.

"Gods, Ami, you scared me half to death!" Apollo nodded towards the door. "How the hell did you get in, anyway?"

"It was unlocked," Ami answered, this time even more quiet than before.

"What! But I—" Suddenly, Apollo remembered having gone into the parlor after hearing Ami leave her bedchamber for the gala to use the full-length mirror inside; 'I must have left my door unlocked,' she realized.

"Apollo, please." Ami took a step forward and stopped, visibly hesitant to get too close. "Don't be angry, I just needed to tell you…"

Shaking herself out of an ongoing internal debate about whether or not she had subconsciously wanted to leave the door unlocked, Apollo said, rather more gruffly than she meant to, "Tell me what?"

Dropping her head and shoulders dejectedly, Ami said, in the tiniest voice yet, "That I'm sorry."

"What?" This time Apollo stepped forward out of desperation to hear Ami. "I couldn't hear you."

"I'm sorry!" Ami gasped, balling her hands into fists and looking up so that Apollo could see tears cascading down her cheeks.

"What are you…?"

"He didn't mean anything to me! I was just doing what I thought any normal girl my age would do."

"Ami you are normal."

"They laugh, they dance…"

"And intelligent."

"They have friends who aren't ancient and dusty…"

"And beautiful."

As Apollo moved towards her, Ami stopped talking and simply stared at the older girl, letting her eyes wander over Apollo's body before reconnecting with the blonde's gaze. "I love you," Ami suddenly blurted out, immediately clamping her hands over her mouth and widening her eyes in shock.

Meanwhile, Apollo had frozen in place, her mouth hanging open. She made no sound, and the expression on her face was indecipherable.

Recovering from her emotional outburst, Ami stared talking rapidly, "I'm sorry, I've been trying to hide it from you, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I thought you couldn't possibly feel the same way, but then tonight, the way you looked at me, it seemed like maybe…"

"I do feel the same way," Apollo interrupted dully.

"You do?" Ami perked up, wiping the tears from her face.

Apollo nodded then choked back tears as she continued, "But I can't."

Ami didn't skip a beat. "Excuse me?"

Turning her back to Ami, Apollo repeated, "I can't, Ami." She started walking towards the bathroom door but before Apollo could make it very far, Ami had grabbed her arm and turned the decidedly stronger girl around.

Tears were now streaming down Ami's face, but her expression was undeniably one of determined anger. "And you think this is easy for _me_?!"

"No, I never said—"

"I have lived my entire life closed off from everyone, including my parents!"

"It's not about—"

"So if I can open myself up to these feelings, then you can, too!"

"It's not that simp—"

"You've been in a relationship before! You should be used to this!"

"This," Apollo began, raising and steadying her voice in an attempt to intimidate Ami into staying silent, "has nothing to do with anything you just said."

"Then what does it have to do with?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"You just said I was intelligent, so how do you know I wouldn't understand?"

"You just wouldn't!"

"THEN EXPLAIN IT TO ME!" Breathing hard, fists clenched, Ami suddenly dissolved into sobs and sat down heavily onto the nearest chair.

Apollo made a move towards the Mercurian but stopped when Ami buried her face in her hands. The sight of such a beautiful girl crying because of her own fears and anxieties about exposing her weak spots overwhelmed Apollo with guilt. "Ok." Not getting a response, Apollo raised her voice and said again, "Ok."

Ami pulled her hands away from her face and sniffled, "Ok what?"

"I'll explain it to you."

"You will?"

The sad hope in Ami's voice broke Apollo's heart and removed any last regrets she harbored about divulging this secret. "Yes. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even the other princesses."

"Of course."

Shrugging resignedly, Apollo whispered, "I don't even know how to begin. The last person I told, years ago, was Setsuna, but she already knew most of the general details."

Curiously devoid of any jealousy of someone else having known before she did, Ami smiled as sweetly as she could, locked gazes with Apollo, and nodded reassuringly. The still-wet tears on her face glistened in the starlight shining through the open balcony doors as Ami settled in her chair, hands folded demurely in her lap. "Don't worry. I think I'll be able to follow along."

"I know, Ami. You're the most intelligent person I have ever had the pleasure to meet." Apollo paused, thinking hard. "Ami" she ventured, more to stall for time than to actually grab the blue-haired princess's attention. "Did you read about the Moon family before you came here?"

"A little. I was mostly preoccupied with figuring out what it was I was going to be doing."

"So you read the ancient texts."

"How did you…?"

"Unless you spoke to your ambassador, which I somehow highly doubt, the only other reliable source for learning about your own role in the Moon family's destiny would be the ancient texts."

"Yes, there was quite a bit about what was prophecied for each princess."

"Well, some of them are very vague, so you should be careful about how you read them. But one thing they say is clear. Tell me, Ami, did you ever come across anything about me in the ancient texts?"

Flashing back to her surprise upon meeting Apollo, Ami answered sheepishly, "No."

"Exactly." Apollo moved to the balcony, leaning against the doorframe and staring out at the stars.

"But," Ami started, furrowing her brow. "If the ancients didn't receive prophecies about your life, then…"

"I shouldn't even exist." As starlight lit up Apollo's face, Ami saw for the first time that, unlike her mother and sister, Apollo did not have the faint outline of an upside-down crescent moon on her forehead. "I disrupted the space-time continuum, which, needless to say, quite upset Setsuna when she finally learned why her precious gates were so volatile." Apollo smirked at the memory, but the smile quickly left her face. "I'm not supposed to be here, Ami. My existence is like one big strain on the natural flow of time and life. I'm the lost one. And thus I am expendable."

Jumping up, Ami stormed over to Apollo and cried, "How can you say that?!"

"Because I am."

Stunned, Ami asked regrettably, "Then why don't you just kill yourself?"

"Suicide is dishonorable," Apollo whispered, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. "But I'll admit, I am more eager about putting myself in danger than the average person. For the greater good," she mused bitterly, sighing again. "But that means I can't get too close to anyone."

"You got close to Haruka," Ami said, her voice a dangerous mix of seething rage and unfathomable sadness.

"She was a mistake."

"Then I want to be your mistake, too!" Overcome by a rage she could barely understand, Ami slapped Apollo, immediately regretting what she had done and recoiling in shock.

Touching her stinging left cheek, Apollo's mouth opened slightly as she looked up into Ami's terrified face. A step forward, Ami's momentary flinch, and suddenly they were kissing furiously, each girl's tongue slipping into the other's mouth. While Apollo cradled Ami's face in her hands, Ami reached up and ran her hands through Apollo's short hair, pulling slightly at the ends. Shivering with delight, Apollo let her arms drop and then encircle Ami before reaching underneath the Mercurian's buttocks to lift her up into a hanging straddle of the general's midsection.

"Oh!" Ami yelped, breaking the kiss just long enough to tightly squeeze her thighs against the blonde's waist. Resuming the contact between her lips and Apollo's, Ami barely registered being carried through the room and laid upon the sumptuous black and yellow comforter on the four-poster bed. The two princesses remained engaged in the same position they had been in while standing and both could feel the increasing heat emanating from their bodies.

Suddenly, Apollo lifted herself up onto her elbows, releasing the bite she had fastened to Ami's lower lip. A slight whimper escaped Ami's lips, and Apollo giggled lightly before resetting her facial features sternly. "It's not going to be easy, you know. Eventually, I'll have to leave you. It might be tomorrow, it might be years from now, but someday—"

Ami interrupted Apollo by placing a finger to the older girl's lips and stated decidedly, "I don't care. I'd rather have every part of you that I can have now than not have you at all, ever." Hanging her head, Apollo pulled herself off the bed and faced away from Ami. "Apollo?"

"You really want me right now?" the blonde whispered.

"Yes!" Ami cried, getting up as well and reaching for Apollo. "Yes! Yes, I do!"

"Well then," Apollo answered, turning her head to give Ami an impish smile that made the younger girl feel weak in the knees. "I suppose you can help me out of my gown now."


	14. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all its components are the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Apollo is my own creation, and if you wish to use her, please ask me first.

Notes: I think that this story explains Apollo pretty well, but in case you need to know more about her, I will later upload an old fanfic that introduces her as a character in the Sailor Moon universe. Also, I have taken some liberties with everyone's personalities, which I excuse by saying that everything takes place during the first incarnation of all the senshi, so I assumed they would be at least slightly different (hopefully more mature, as I have made them).

* * *

**REFRACT**

_Epilogue _

For the first time in her life, Ami was sleeping with a big smile on her face. Splayed out in the bed on her stomach, her short blue hair and naked white skin provided a contrast to the black of the comforter. Her right hand was draped lazily over the depressed portion of the pillow on which Apollo had been resting her head mere minutes ago.

Apollo stood at the side of the bed, smirking down at the sight. Tilting her head to the side in a moment of contemplation, Apollo continued taking in the sight of her very naked lover twitching in her sleep until she decided it was time to wake Ami from her reveries. Leaning forward, Apollo gently slapped Ami's exposed buttock, eliciting a shark intake of breath from Ami, but the Mercurian did not wake. Grinning, Apollo shook her head and again slapped Ami's buttock, a little harder this time, and she saw Ami's eyes flutter open.

"Mmm, that feels good…"

"It's time to get up."

Ami buried her face back in her pillow. "Bah…"

Apollo reached down to Ami's right hand and started tracing a line from the middle finger down to Ami's toes as she spoke, never breaking eye contact with her lover after she had looked up. "It's time for training, Ami."

Feeling a slight tingle from hearing Apollo use her name, Ami nevertheless pouted, "Today? Of all days, Apollo, the day after a gala?" She paused, a light smirk playing along her lips. "And after you tired me out so?"

"If I can be awake, so can you! No one sleeps on my watch!" With an agility borne from years of combat training and athletics, Apollo vaulted herself into the bed on top of Ami, straddled her back, and started tickling the blue-haired princess mercilessly, the sound of laughter filling the bedchamber for the first time in over a month…

* * *

Author's final notes 

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read my story, and I'd like to especially thank those who took the time to review any part of the story. I was glad to see that people approved of my original character, Apollo, and of this little story of mine that I started on a whim and ended 35 pages later, after an interstate apartment move and the end of college. I normally never finish anything once I start writing it, but knowing that someone was taking the time to read my story really motivated me to continue with it. So: **THANK YOU!**

I want to address for a moment how I portrayed Michiru, because I think that I made her out to be far worse than she is in the series. The thing is, I believe that Michiru is capable of being incredibly cruel, as evidenced by some of the condescending ways in which she treats the Inners. However, I think that quite a bit of her inner demons are the result of her being saddled with a fate she didn't want--much like Apollo. She's actually one of my favorite characters (as are the other Outers), mostly because I consider her incredibly enigmatic and complex.

As for Ami, she's my favorite of the Inners, although I think (as someone commented on in a review) that many people grossly underestimate her. That's why I wanted to put her in a stressful situation and push her until she finally exploded; out of all the senshi, I really do believe that she has the most potential to grow as a character and exhibit a farther range and variety of emotions. All she needed was for someone to make her open up.

So, this is the end of "Refract," but I am writing a sequel to it entitled "Twilight." That story will center on all the senshi and will actually be mature in content--in language, sexuality, and violence. It'll basically center on the time right before Beryl's attack of the Moon, and I hope to have longer chapters with a lot more going on. Look for it soon.

Again, thanks for reading!


End file.
